


Carrot Cake

by TheGabbing



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Derek "Nursey" Nurse is Unchill, Fluff and Angst, Friends With Benefits, Fuckbuddies, Idiots in Love, M/M, Miscommunication, Wordcount: 5.000-10.000, illusions to smut but not really anything there so, its not my fault i can't write it, maybe not but who cares, no betas we die like men, there's a cat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:55:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27890353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGabbing/pseuds/TheGabbing
Summary: It's one thing to end up in a fuck buddy relationship with a guy who slept with you four years ago then ran away and never talked to you since. It is another thing entirely for your cat to end up loving said guy.
Relationships: Derek "Nursey" Nurse/William "Dex" Poindexter, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 110





	Carrot Cake

**Author's Note:**

> [I saw this and it inspired me apparently....](https://omgsanityplease.tumblr.com/post/632062942973739008?fbclid=IwAR140f3rD5O466Q4l7BEA2kDkiTZfq1PGpIURXIfb9iFCWOTvzV-j65GRek)
> 
> Reddit post said: My Fuckbuddy is kind to my cat and my cat likes him. I’m starting to have feelings for him because of that.  
> Every time he comes to my place he’d greet my cat first, crouch down like “heyyyy buddy how is it going?” and scratch her little face. Then after a little while he’d just stand up and kiss me hard and go straight to the business. Like, he’s dominant in bed but kinda cute around my cat. And my cat loves him for some reason. My cat doesn’t take kindly to strangers but she would jump on to his lap when we were making out. And when he was about to leave my cat wouldn’t stop following him and meowing at him. It was a bit embarrassing. My cat was screaming at him one time when he was leaving. He laughed and said “hey what do you want? Wanna come with?” My cat doesn’t even treat me this nicely. I feel I’m starting to really like him because my stupid cat likes him so much."
> 
> Uh... Haven't written a check please fic in four years - or I haven't finished and posted one in that long - so like.... enjoy?

_Nursey sifted through the papers stuffed into his desk drawers. Where was it? It couldn’t have just disappeared. Of course, he had to misplace the one notebook he needed to pack away before Dex came to help him pack. The last thing he needed was Dex accidentally finding the notebook and fucking up everything before they leave Samwell for the last time._

_Dex was supposed to leave in two days. The graduation ceremony was done, his contract for the Kings signed, and all his things packed neatly in boxes ready to be sent to his new apartment in Los Angeles. Whereas Nursey hadn’t packed anything and had no idea what his plan was besides just moving back to NYC. It wasn’t a big surprise that Dex was more organized than Nursey and it also wasn’t a big surprise that Nursey misplaced the most important poetry notebook he had._

_See, Nursey had tons of poetry notebooks. He often misplaced the one he was working out of and would just start a new notebook instead of finding it. Which was how he had 10 half-filled notebooks as well as his 6 filled notebooks. But the one he was missing this time was different. It was his_ **special** _notebook. The notebook he didn’t allow anyone to read from. It was the notebook he spilled his secrets to and let his words flow onto the page without worrying about how it sounds. It was the notebook that he used to write about Dex._

_It wasn’t just any writing. It was poems of the freckles that blessed his cheeks and danced across the bridge of his nose. Poems about the way his hands held a wrench and wondering how he would hold Nursey’s hand. Poems about the way his blush would crawl down his neck and hoping to find out how far it went._

_Usually, Nursey knew at all times where the notebook was but apparently not today. When Nursey looked through his desk drawer, where he was sure he left it last, it was nowhere to be found. Dex was taking clothes off Nursey’s hangers and laughing about how hipster or obnoxiously expensive his clothes were. The second Nursey realized it was gone, he all but shoved Dex out of the room. He spouted some bullshit about wanting some coffee from Annies and shoved some money into Dex’s hand. Luckily, Dex only grumbled a bit and said he could have bought everything from Annie’s with the money Nursey gave him. As soon as Dex left, Nursey set to tearing apart his room trying to find where it went._

_He still couldn’t find it and Nursey was sure that Dex was almost back. It normally took Dex half the time to go to Annies and come back than everyone else. Nursey blamed it on the fact that his legs were too long for his own good._

_The door swung open and Nursey turned to face Dex. Dex stood there with two cups in hand. Nursey must have had a frantic look on his face because Dex took one look at him and frowned._

_“What did you lose?” Dex asked as he handed Nursey one of the drinks._

_Nursey took the opportunity to stall and sipped the drink. He was expecting a coffee but it was actually just a London fog. “Why didn’t you get me a coffee?”_

_Dex snorted, like what he asked was laughable. “You had like three coffees today, Nurse. I’m not dealing with you when you crash. That’s a decaf. Now, stop changing the subject, what did you lose?”_

_He knew well enough that if he lied to Dex or tried to brush him off, Dex would just get angry and hurt. So Nursey told a half-truth. “Just a notebook. It’s no big deal. You know what, why don’t we go get some food. I’m a little peckish. We could go get pizza from Ivan’s!”_

_“You hate pizza from Ivan’s. You say it’s not even pizza. What’s gotten into you? Come on, I bet I can find it.” Dex said as he pushed his drink into Nursey’s free hand._

_“Nuh-uh,” Nursey protested, which was the worst possible thing to do because Dex is nothing if not overly competitive._

_Dex got that determined focused look on his face that made Nursey want to swoon. “I’ll find it. I know you better than you know yourself, Nurse.”_

_Nursey’s heart thudded in his chest at Dex’s words. His thoughts screeched to a stop. It was lucky that those words weren’t as true as Dex thought they were. If Dex knew how much Nursey thought about him - about him in a romantic way - Nursey wasn’t sure Dex would talk to him anymore._

_When Nursey focused back on Dex, he watched him as Dex reached into the crack between his wall and his bed. Dex pulled the notebook out with a smug grin on his lips._

**Fuck** _._

_“Give me that,” Nursey demanded, practically dropping the drinks onto the desk in his haste to grab the notebook from Dex. Which really, was the worst thing to do. Nursey reached for the Notebook and Dex yanked it out of his reach._

_“Oh, what happened to your manners, Nurse? Didn’t that fancy boarding school teach you any better?” Dex teased. He laughed as Nursey lunged to grab the notebook. He easily sidestepped Nursey’s attempt and held the notebook just out of reach. Nursey jumped for it once more and Dex moved it away._

_“Dude, come on!” Nursey complained. Dex laughed and moved out of the way to stand right in front of the bed. Seeing his chance, Nursey tackled Dex. The moment they hit the bed, it was a scuffle. Nursey would grab hold of the notebook’s corner just as Dex twisted away. Eventually, Dex had gotten Nursey pinned beneath him, with one hand pinning Nursey’s wrists to the bed and the other holding the notebook to the side. Nursey had to take a deep breath to not think about how much he wanted Dex to pin him to the bed in other ways._

_Dex laughed at him. “What is even in here? Sappy love poems about a girl you’re mooning after?” He said this in a teasing manner but Nursey couldn’t help but think about how true that statement was. Dex opened the notebook with one hand. For a half second, Nursey found himself hoping that Dex wouldn’t even be able to tell they were about him. The hope was fleeting because despite being a comp-sci major, he was annoyingly perceptive about the poems Nursey wrote. Nursey squeezed his eyes shut. He refused to watch Dex’s face as he read the poems. He had gotten too used to Dex’s face happy and didn’t want to watch it turn harsh and pointed._

_Nursey could tell the moment that Dex realized who those poems were about. His hand grew slack against Nursey’s wrists. If he wanted to, Nursey would be able to wiggle out and run. Nursey heard a whispered_ ‘oh’ _from Dex’s lips. The notebook dropped to the bed with a soft thump._

_“Can you look at me?” Dex asked. Nursey shook his head, keeping his eyes shut. Dex huffed. “Derek… Look at me, please?”_

_Unable to deny Dex’s honest request, Nursey opened his eyes to see Dex’s smiling face. His cheeks were red in that way that Nursey learnt meant he was a happy kind of embarrassed. That made everything too confusing to understand._

_Dex grinned wider at whatever face Nursey was making. “Are these about me?” He asked, as if he didn’t already know._

_“Shuddup,” Nursey grumbled, turning his face into his arm so he wouldn’t have to look at Dex’s face._

_“Nah,” Dex whispered above him. With his free hand, Dex guided Nursey’s face back to his and dipped down to kiss him softly._

_When Dex pulled away, Nursey couldn’t do anything but blink. Had that actually happened? That seemed too close to a dream to be reality. Was Dex making fun of him? Seemed like a lot to do just for a joke._

_Dex chuckled. “So, this is the all mighty poet. Struck dumb from a little kiss. No wonder you never get laid. You have no game.”_

_Nursey groaned. In one moment, he pulled his hands from Dex’s grasp and looped them around Dex’s neck. He pulled Dex down so their foreheads could rest against each other. “I never got laid because they were never you.” Hey, never let it be said that Nursey did anything by halves._

_Dex’s eyes turned soft. “Yeah?” He asked._

_“Yeah.” Nursey answered, dragging him into a kiss._

* * *

Derek launched awake when Carrot Cake bit his nose. She yelped as she went tumbling off of him. The orange cat glared up at him with narrowed eyes before pawing at his arm. He sighed and grabbed his phone to check the time. Late afternoon. Great, he slept in. At least he didn’t have anywhere to be today. Carrot yowled at him and pawed at his arm again, this time with enough claws to lightly scratch at his skin. 

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Give me a second, sweetheart.” Derek stretched his arms above his head and yawned. Not wasting any time, Carrot jumped off the bed and ran out of the room, likely to the kitchen to wait for her food. Derek could hear her little claws click against the hardwood floor. He definitely needed to trim them soon. 

He didn’t bother to get dressed before stumbling to the kitchen. Derek stopped briefly at one of his hall closets he kept all of Carrot’s things in to grab a tin of wet food for her. It was special for her because of the allergies she had. A little expensive, he had to say, but it wasn’t like he was wanting for money. 

Carrot slipped through his legs back and forth as he dumped it out into one of her little plates he bought specially for her. He saw a place online that made little glass plates in the shape of a cat that you could request to be custom painted with the same markings of your cat. To be fair, Derek was drunk when he bought it…. Not that he wouldn’t have bought it anyways if he was sober but that wasn’t the point. 

After setting down her food, Derek started his coffee pot that he prepped the night before. A lot easier than having to measure everything in the morning. 

He dreamt of that night… again. Derek had stopped obsessing over it a long time ago but that didn’t mean his subconscious agreed. He finally was able to confess (or maybe have it be revealed) that he had feelings for Dex and they spent that night together. It was everything Derek could have wanted and he fell asleep in Dex’s arms listening to him whisper small words of affection into his hair. But good things never lasted for Derek and that morning, Dex was gone. 

Derek wasn’t dumb, he knew what that meant. Dex had never shown any interest in men before that night. Obviously it was just one last hurrah. A ‘ _I was gay in college_ ’ experience for him. Derek was there, ready, and willing, so why not? Then Dex woke up and realized it wasn’t for him so he left to avoid that awkward conversation. Dererk wasn’t about to cling to Dex and make things worse, so he left too. He packed a bag of clothes and his laptop and two of his notebooks and left. Derek stayed at a hotel and indulged himself in as much treats and chocolate and alcohol as he could because he needed to be comforted damn it. Dex was leaving for Los Angeles soon so Derek only had to stay away until then. 

Dex didn’t text Derek and Derek didn’t text either. 

Now it’s four years later and Derek still hasn’t said a word to Dex since graduation. Well, that might not be true. There was the group chat. They both talked in the group chat with everyone and sometimes they replied to what the other said but it was more in the sense of just talking to the group at large than having it directed specifically to the other. Derek didn’t count that. To be honest, he’s really lucky that Dex and Derek never seemed to be available at the same time when the group had get-togethers. Maybe it was Dex being busy with being in the NHL or Derek being busy with publishing and writing his books and poetry. Derek was just glad because he wasn’t sure if he could hold it together if he saw Dex again.

Derek was just pouring some cream into his coffee when his phone dinged once. As he was putting the cream back in the fridge, it dinged again. And again. And again. Derek quickly opened his phone to check what was happening.  
  


**WP:  
** **Looks like Chowder is going to be the only one on the west coast soon.**

**EB:  
** **What?!?!?!?!?!? Dex?????**

**WP:  
** **I got traded. To the Rangers. NYC here I come.**

**EB:  
** **OH MY GOSH! A party. We have to have a party. How many pies y’all want?**

**(17 unread messages)  
**

Derek slowly put his phone down. New York. Dex was coming to New York. To live. Dex was going to live in New York. Derek’s phone rang and he answered it without checking who it was. 

“Why the hell didn’t you warn me?” Derek demanded of Chowder. 

“Well, I was going to but Dex said he didn’t want anybody to know until it was for sure. He wanted to tell everyone himself.” Chowder explained. He seemed a little guilty but not nearly as guilty as Derek thought he should be. “I thought you were over it, Nursey? It’s been so long.”

“Being over it doesn’t mean I want him in my city!” He yelled hysterically. Derek was glad that Chowder knew what happened. When Derek came back to the house after Dex was gone, Chowder was pretty angry and confused because Derek went radio silent and Dex refused to talk about anything regarding him. All it took was a little prodding before Derek started crying and explaining everything. Chowder pushed once or twice for Derek to talk to Dex but when Derek finally yelled at him to stop, he didn’t talk about it anymore. If Chowder didn’t know what happened after graduation, Derek wouldn’t have anyone to have a breakdown at. 

Carrot jumped onto the counter Derek was leaning over and meowed softly. This was one of the reasons why he loved her. She was great at noticing when Derek was tense and upset and always tried to calm him down. 

“Oh, was that Carrot? Hi, Carrot! I love you!” Chowder yelled despite the fact that Carrot didn’t like other people. 

“Chowder, please, I’m having a crisis.” Derek whined. “Dex and I not talking isn’t a problem when we are across the country but everyone will notice if Dex and I don’t even talk when we live in the same city. Maybe I should move? Yeah, I can move. Should I come to San Jose? I think that’s a great idea.” Derek said this all in a rush while rushing to the living room to grab his laptop. He opened it to google and typed in _houses in San Jose_. 

“Nursey, what happened to your chill?” Chowder asked.

“I have never, not once, had any chill about Dex,” Derek grumbled. “I’m serious, Chowder. I don’t know if you can do this.”

Carrot grabbed one of the many toy mouses she had and brought it to Derek to throw. She was the only cat he knew that liked to play fetch and normally Derek would be happy to throw it until she got tired. But Derek kicked it half heartedly away when she dropped it at his feet. She looked up at him in a way that was annoyed and disappointed. 

“Okay, well, I don’t think anybody will notice. Jack knows how busy being in the NHL is. I don’t think it will be odd if you two don’t hang out. And no one else has noticed that you don’t talk outside of the group chat. If no one has noticed yet, I don’t think anyone will. It’s been four years.”

“Right....” Derek said. Carrot pushed her way in between Derek and his laptop. She stretched up to knock his chin with her head, trilling softly. “We haven’t even seen each other either though…. Bitty is talking about having some sort of party in Providence. Chowder, please tell me you can make it. I need a buffer.” Derek put the laptop back on the coffee table so he could pull Carrot against him. 

The sound coming from the phone made Derek groan. “I’m sorry!” Chowder said, “I’d love to but I have to go to my captain's wedding! It would be impolite for me to cancel just to go to a party with my college friends!”

“Yeah, yeah. Tell me how California is treating you.”

Chowder knew better than to say anything else so he ran with Derek’s question.

Maybe Chowder was right though. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad? It had been four years and for the most part Dex and Derek were on the same page about never mentioning that night again. Dex didn’t want to talk about it so neither did Derek. It was fine. Everything would be just fine….

Except Derek was never that lucky.

When the day came, Derek was glad that Dex was running behind. Something about his new apartment in New York Bitty said. It gave Derek time to settle in and prepare himself. He was ready for anything. Derek was laughing at something Shitty said when the doorbell rang. Bitty dropped everything and rushed to the door. He screeched with happiness and started asking him questions in that rapid fire way that made it impossible for Dex to answer a single one. 

When Dex walked into the living room, Derek breathed in. Which wouldn’t have been so bad if he wasn’t in the process of drinking water. He ended up keeled over and hacking up a lung. 

“Whoa! Dude, are you okay?” Shitty asked, slapping Derek’s back like it would help somehow. 

Great. It wasn’t even a minute after Dex walked in and Derek already made a fool of himself. Bitty gasped and started to fuss over him while everyone else welcomed Dex to the part. When Derek could finally breathe again, he looked up to see Dex smiling and nodding along to something Jack said. His head tilted back and laughed at something Jack said. Probably hockey. They both loved hockey. 

This really was a bad idea. Derek had specifically avoided watching anything with Dex in these four years. Sure, he watched all of the games but anything with any close ups of Dex, he avoided like the plague. Which meant he never saw how much change Dex went through. He really bulked up as a NHL d-man and god did Dex always have that many freckles? It wasn’t just looks though. Dex seemed so much more confident in himself. He didn’t have that underlying burning ball of anger that Derek had just attributed to him being Dex. This was too overwhelming. 

Almost like Dex could tell Derek was staring, Dex looked over at him. For a moment, the smile on Dex’s face faltered. When it came back, it was one of those fake press smiles that he was trained to do. Derek tried to pretend that didn’t cut him deep.

Instead of smiling, Derek got up to grab a beer from the kitchen. He needed to be drunk if he was going to handle this. 

The dinner went… well. Though, it depended on how you defined well. No one seemed to notice how Derek avoided being alone with Dex all night or how Dex always plastered on that fake PR smile whenever Derek said anything. Everybody was too interested in catching up with Dex to notice that Derek was one second from a breakdown. He wanted to come up with an excuse to leave but he didn’t have the heart to do that to Bitty. Derek made up excuses not to come to Bitty’s place for months because every time Dex was able to make it. If he made an excuse to leave early Bitty might be hurt. Then Jack would give him that disappointed dad look that he had down. No, Derek had to deal with all of this head on. 

“Hey.”

Derek fumbled with his beer, dropping it on the grass. “Fuck.” He mumbled as he stared down. Why did nothing ever work for him? He went outside specifically to avoid having to interact with Dex and here he was. 

“Still a clutz, I see,” Dex laughed softly. 

“Shut up,” Derek grumbled with no heat in it. He picked up the beer and frowned when he realized not a drop of it survived. There weren't any more beers out here anyways. Derek closed his eyes and sighed. 

“Listen, I -”

“Do we have to do this?” Derek asked. “It’s fine. We’ve been fine, we don’t have to talk about it.” 

Dex frowned at him before looking down to his feet. “Yeah… Yeah, we’re good.” 

Awkwardly, Derek fiddled with the empty beer bottle in his hand. He should say something, right? This was awkward and Derek just shut Dex down from bringing anything up so maybe he should try and redefine what they could talk about. Maybe this could be the start of them becoming acquaintances again. “You look good.” 

That is not what he should have said. 

Dex looked up at him with widened eyes. It was that dumb way that always made Derek want to laugh. He got this look when someone complimented him like somehow it was a foreign concept to him. Derek was about to say something, do the whole ‘ _no homo_ ’ thing even though it was very much homo, when Dex replied. “I - you too. Just… uh, nice. You - yeah, really… nice.” Dex scratched the back of his neck. He wanted to kiss that awkward embarrassed look right off his face but he couldn’t. So Derek did the next best thing. 

“Nice, huh? Great use of words there, Poindexter,” Derek teased. His heart pounded in his chest and all his brain could think was that Dex thought he looked _nice_. 

“Shuddup,” Dex grumbled. He kicked a rock off the stone patio they were standing on. “I just… Since I’m in the city, I was…. I was wondering if we could hang out, or like… Or I don’t know.” 

There was no way that Dex was this awkward about asking if they could hang out. He was asking about something completely different and Derek was entirely too on board. Derek took two steps forward and dragged Dex into a kiss. Dex sighed against him and pulled Derek’s hips to his. When Derek pulled away, Dex kept his eyes closed and hummed. “Yeah, that’s fine too.”

Derek would regret this later, he knew he would, but he could never say no to Dex. “As soon as we get back, I’ll be sure to show you a good time,” Derek said. He knew he needed to show Dex that he wasn’t expecting anything serious so Derek stepped back. Dex’s fingers lingered on his hip just a little that Derek half expected Dex to pull him right back. Wishful thinking, probably. “We can’t do anything here. They’ll think we’re dating. We shouldn’t confuse them. Next thing you know, Bitty will be making us celebration pie and we’ll have to explain that we’re just hooking up.”

“Hooking up?” Dex asked, his voice soft and a little strange. He had no idea what that tone meant.

“Yeah?”

Dex nodded, giving Derek a smile that was just off. It wasn’t a PR smile but it wasn’t his normal smile either. Derek hadn’t been around Dex in so long he had no idea how to read him anymore. “Sorry, I just… I was confused. When we get back. Are you heading to NYC tonight?” Derek nodded. “I promised I would stay the night since I haven’t seen them in a while. So tomorrow night? I can come over. We can…”

Derek laughed at how awkward Dex was. “You’re acting like this is your first time hooking up with someone.” 

Dex grumbled and shoved Derek’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s go inside. They’ll be wondering where we are. Like you said, we don’t want them to think we’re dating.”

And that didn’t hurt…. It _didn’t._

Derek was hoping, praying even, that Dex was bad in bed. Last time was four years ago. Derek didn’t remember it being bad, in fact it was very _very_ good. But maybe Derek just built it all up in his head and it was actually mediocre. If Dex wasn’t good in bed, Derek would be able to shrug him off and say they weren’t compatible. Maybe then they would be able to get back to a tentative friendship. 

Dex was, however, unbelievably good in bed. Almost too good. More than once, Derek needed to catch his breath because of Dex’s stamina. It was off the charts. It had been years since he had multiple orgasms but it was almost like Dex made it his goal to give Derek at least two. He didn’t care as much about getting himself off as much as making absolutely sure that Derek was completely and wholly satisfied. Dex was so much more sure in bed than he had been at graduation and Derek tried not to think exactly how he got this good. 

Sometimes Dex would just grin up at him knowing exactly how good he looked when he was giving head and Derek’s heart would stutter in his chest. He’d wipe off some of Derek's cum on his face with his fingers and just licked it off in the most sensual way. That was the sure fire way to get Derek raring to go for round two. What kind of sex god did Dex turn into? How many puck bunnies did he have to fuck to get that good?

Without being able to say they weren’t compatible, Derek resigned himself to continue fucking Dex. It wasn’t like Dex wouldn’t back off if Derek asked him to. But the problem was that Derek just didn’t want him to. Derek figured that having this little bit of Dex was better than nothing. Derek might never be able to have Dex completely but he could have this and that was enough. 

It was around the fourth time that Dex came over that he met Carrot. 

See, Carrot was a special cat. Nursey got her the second year he moved back to NYC. He was scrolling on facebook when he saw a post from the shelter about her. She was this tiny little thing despite being an adult cat. Apparently, she was owned by this elderly man. His wife got her when she was a kitten and cared for her like a baby. When his wife passed on, he took care of Carrot Cake and spoiled her because she was the last piece of his wife. He died recently and none of his children could take her. Carrot Cake hated other cats and children and dogs. She would attack anything she didn’t like viciously and hid more often than not. The shelter was trying to find someone to foster her because they knew she was not happy in the shelter. Derek picked her up the next day. 

It took an entire year for Carrot to finally love on him but she still hated everything else. One time Derek introduced her to a boyfriend he had - that didn’t last long anyways - and she attacked his hand and bit him and was generally rude to him. It wasn’t just him. If anyone came over, Carrot hated it. If they tried to pet her, she would attack. If they moved too fast, she would attack. If they were sitting where she wanted to sit, she would attack. Derek just decided to put her in the spare bedroom every time anyone came over. 

This time though, Carrot had somehow snuck out. She was so small and fast it was easy to miss her slipping out before he shut the door. Dex and Derek were on the couch half making out half chirping each other. Just as Derek was about to crawl into Dex’s lap, Carrot jumped up onto Dex. 

“Fuck!” Derek said, and quickly tried to grab Carrot. Before he could though, Carrot stretched up and headbutted Dex. Derek’s eyes widened. He had never seen anybody Carrot liked. Carrot didn’t even like him at first!

Dex grinned, “You have a cat?” He scratched behind Carrot’s ear and smiled softly when she started to purr. “How come I’ve never seen her before?”

“Uh....” Derek said, suddenly struck dumb. It was just too much. This was just supposed to be hooking up. Derek had given up on ever having something serious with Dex long before they even kissed. But Carrot liked him. Why did that feel like something so big? “She... She doesn’t like people so I put her in the spare room when someone is over.”

Carrot purred and curled up on Dex’s laps. He ran his hand lightly down her back and smiled softly. “Oh, she’s not so bad,” Dex said. “I guess I must be the exception.”

“Uh, yeah... guess so,” Derek mumbled. “Here, I’ll just –”

When Derek reached to grab Carrot, Dex swatted him away. “No, leave her alone. She’s comfortable.”

“But-” 

“Are you that desperate for another round?” Dex asked playfully.

Derek sputtered and Dex laughed. It was that long obnoxious laugh that made Derek’s belly flip flop. Every time. This was only supposed to be hooking up, just fuck buddies. Now Derek had to watch while Dex cooed at Carrot.

“You are such a good girl,” Dex murmured. He booped Carrot on her nose, something Derek knew she hated, but all Carrot did was look up at him. He grinned at her and scratched behind her ear. “I can’t have a pet because of work, but that’s okay. I bet no kitty is as good as you.” Derek couldn’t help but whine back in his throat. This was too much. Dex looked at him. “What’s her name?”

“Carrot Cake,” Derek said.

Dex snorted. “Carrot Cake?”

“Listen, her last owner gave her that name. Or his wife did. It didn’t feel right to change it,” Derek snapped, falling back into the easy push and pull they always had.

“Well, that makes sense. I would have thought if you named her that it would have been more poetic, like one of your poems in your anthology.” Dex said casually like it didn’t just flip Derek’s world upside down.

“You read my anthology? You don’t like poetry.” Derek asked, blinking dumbly at him.

Dex looked at him like he was stupid. “Yeah, but you wrote it. Very unchill poems, by the way. You must have really cared about who you were writing about. You want me to punch them out?”

“I... What?”

“You know, for hurting you. I may not know much about poetry but I know enough. Some asshole hurt you. I could punch them for you. I know you don’t like fighting though so maybe I’ll just threaten them. You pick.” Dex said, smiling that sweet smile Derek could never understand. Here Dex was, saying he would fight whoever hurt Derek when he was the one all the poems were about. Derek wrote his entire anthology as a way to get over Dex. Thank god he didn’t put any of his old poems in there about Dex because it would have been obnoxiously obvious on who it was about.

Unable to form words, Derek yanked Dex forward so he could kiss him roughly. Dex hummed into the kiss before cupping Derek’s face in his hands. Derek pressed forward more but was rewarded with Carrot yowling and jumping up to bite at Derek’s face. Derek jerked back and stared at Carrot incredulously. She hadn’t bit him in a long time.

“Looks like Carrot is a little jealous,” Dex grinned, scratching down Carrot’s back. She purred loudly and began to knead Dex’s legs.

“We are going to your place next time,” Derek grumbled. Dex laughed but didn’t stop cooing at Carrot while she preened under his attention.

Carrot learned that whenever Derek tried to lock her in the spare bedroom that Dex was coming over. She made it her sole mission to sneak out so she could climb all over Dex and just make Derek’s life a living hell. Carrot didn’t like anyone. She didn’t like any of the people he dated over the years. Now she was suddenly obsessed with Dex. Whenever she didn’t escape fast enough, she would scream in the bedroom until Dex convinced Derek to let her out. Eventually, Derek just gave up and kept her out. When Derek would open the door to Dex, he would crouch down to give Carrot a kiss and a scratch before pulling Derek into a rough kiss. Carrot left them alone after that. At least until after they left the bedroom.

As soon as they were out of the bedroom, she climbed up Dex’s body. The first time she climbed up Dex, Derek let out a slew of apologies as he tried to gently take her off of him. Dex would just laugh and hold her. She always chirped happily in his arms and rubbed her head on his chin to mark him as hers. It just made everything worse. Derek was already having a hard time remembering that this was just a friends with benefits situation. They were fuckbuddies and would only ever be that. Dex made it clear the first time they slept together that he didn’t want anything serious. If he wanted anything more he would have stayed.

Derek was fine with it, though. He was fine with what they had now. Sure, it made it hard to sleep with other people, but Derek didn’t even want to. That wasn’t because Derek was falling for Dex all over again... No, not at all.

It was hardest when Dex was away for a game. Carrot would sit by the door like she was waiting for him to come back. Derek almost wanted to tell her to not hope for it. Dex loved to leave, after all. No matter how much Dex came over, he never stayed the night. Okay, it wasn’t like Derek ever asked but he didn’t want to over step. He didn’t want to make it awkward. Dex didn’t want a relationship with Derek and he needed to be fine with that. So asking Dex to stay the night would just send mixed signals. The last thing Derek wanted was for Dex to leave again.

So Derek kept his desire to himself. Carrot did not. Every single time Dex was leaving, Carrot would yowl and climb him and all but beg him to stay. Whenever Dex was away for a long time, she was always more adamant about him staying. Derek pulled Carrot off of Dex for the fifth time, her nails catching on his flannel as she was taken off. 

Dex laughed and smoothed a finger over Carrot’s head. “What do you want? Wanna come home with me?” She meowed and tried to claw her way out of Derek’s arms. 

Derek gripped tighter on to her and let out a pained laugh. “Come on, Carrot. Let him leave. He always leaves.”

He didn’t mean for it to be a reference to that night. Honestly, he didn’t. But he sort of resented Dex for leaving and he was still upset over it. Dex, of course, caught on. He frowned at Derek. “Oh come on, you are just as good at leaving. I mean, you left after graduation.” Dex didn’t have to say that he was talking about that night for Derek to understand it. 

“What do you mean I left?” Derek asked. He could feel anger bubbling up in his throat. He all but dropped Carrot from his arms. Like the perspective cat she was, Carrot ran out of the front entrance. 

Dex shrugged but his shoulders were tense. Derek knew this meant Dex was feeling vulnerable. Even though it has been so long since Derek saw it, he knew exactly how to pinpoint it. “Exactly what I said. You left. I got over it a long time ago, Derek. It’s fine.” Dex moved to the door but there was no way this was happening again.

Derek couldn’t - wouldn’t let him go this time. He reached out and yanked Dex to a stop. He tried to pull him closer but Dex wouldn’t let himself be pulled any close. “Got over it? Dex, I didn’t leave!”

“Yes, you did,” Dex insisted, “You were gone. I get it. I wasn’t what you wanted.” He refused to look at Derek as he mumbled, “I’m not what you want.”

“Not what I want?” Derek snapped. What the fuck did that mean? How dare Dex act like Derek was the one who was at fault. “Fuck you, don’t tell me what I want. You are the one who left!”

Dex pulled his hand from Derek’s grasp. “What the fuck. No, I didn’t! I came back and you were fucking gone! And you didn’t come back! What the fuck was I supposed to think? You didn’t even come back to the Haus until after I left for Los Angeles! Obviously you didn’t want me.”

“ **_You_ ** left! I woke up and you were gone! I thought it was just a failed experiment for you!” Derek yelled back. He hadn’t been this angry for so long but he could feel his hands shaking by his side. Maybe the last time he was so angry was hen he was still at Samwell fighting with Dex about something stupid.”

“An experiment?” Dex asked incredulously. “What experiment?”

“Of being gay! You know, the whole ‘I was gay in college once’! I was convenient, avaliable and willing so you said fuck it. Then you woke up and it was a mistake and you left and I just wanted to make it easy for you! I didn’t want to fucking cling to you when it was just a fucking mistake!”

“For fucks sake, Derek! I’ve known I was gay a hell of a lot longer than I knew you!” Dex screamed at him. 

Derek blinked. “What?”

“I had the biggest, stupidest crush on you the entire time I knew you! You frustrated me and annoyed me and challenged me and fuck, you were just an honestly good person! When I read those poems I thought you felt the same. But you left so I thought -”

“You fucking left first, asshole!”

“For fucking breakfast, Derek!” Dex yelled back. “You sleep like the fucking dead so I figured I had time to run to Annie’s to grab that stupid fucking zucchini muffin and one of those obnoxiously overly-complicated and overly sweet drinks that you love so much. I came back and you were gone! And you didn’t fucking come back! You didn’t come back.” The last sentence was mumbled out like the fury was slowly dying. 

“I… But….” Derek fumbled for words. Nothing made sense anymore. Derek dropped to the ground, unsure that his legs wouldn’t give out. So Dex didn’t leave him because it was a mistake? “So you… you wanted to…?” For some reason, Derek couldn’t bring himself to ask what he was thinking.

Dex sighed and sat down next to Derek. “I thought we could… I don’t know… figure it out. I know what I wanted. I hoped that was what you wanted but I guess…. I guess not.”

“What did you want?” Derek asked. He needed Dex to say it outloud. No more moronic miscommunication between them. Dex grumbled under his breath, refusing to respond. Derek grabbed Dex’s chin and forced him to look at him. “Dex, what did you want?”

“I wanted to date you. I know I was leaving and you were leaving and we were going to be across the country but I just. I wanted to be your boyfriend. For as long as you would let me.” Dex answered. 

“Oh…” Derek said. He moved his hand to the back of Dex’s neck. He pulled him in just to set a soft kiss on Dex’s lips. When Derek pulled back, Dex was giving him a small unsure smile. Like he wasn’t sure he could believe what was happening. 

“You were wrong. I did want you. I do want you. I want to be your boyfriend. I want you to be here with me all the time,” Derek said. Carrot came running from the living room and jumped onto Dex’s lap, immediately starting to knead Dex’s legs. “And Carrot wants you here too.”

Dex laughed. “Well… If Carrot wants me here.”

**Author's Note:**

> @ me if you want me to add more tags, i don't know if I got everything


End file.
